Name Blake Austin Career start 2011 Weight 97 kg | Height 1.87 m Role Rugby Player | |
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Awards Dally M Award Best Five-eight Similar People Jarrod Croker, Edrick Lee, Sam Williams, Jack Wighton, Josh Papalii | ||
Blake Austin - Recognize
Blake Austin (born 1 February 1991) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Canberra Raiders of the National Rugby League. He primarily plays at five-eighth, but can also play at centre and second row. A City Origin representative, Austin previously played for the Penrith Panthers and the Wests Tigers.
Contents
- Blake Austin Recognize
- Early life
- Penrith Panthers
- Wests Tigers
- Canberra Raiders
- Representative career
- Personal life
- References
Early life
Born in Parramatta, New South Wales to parents Robert and Maree, Austin is of English descent through his grandmother. A Doonside Roos junior, Austin was also a baseballer and sprinter as a child. In 2001, he appeared on The Footy Show as the winner of the "league of their own" video contest for best junior rugby league try. He won a brand new Holden Jackaroo, which his parents sold in order to move out of a Doonside housing commission and into their own home in Mount Druitt. In 2009, Austin represented the Australian Schoolboys team while attending St Dominic's College, Penrith.
Penrith Panthers
With the Penrith Panthers incapable of making the semi-finals in 2011, Austin made his NRL debut for the Panthers in round 25 against the Canberra Raiders. He scored a try in his second game, against the St. George Illawarra Dragons in round 26. During the 2012 pre-season, Austin re-signed with the Panthers on a two-year contract. He played 13 games in 2012, scoring a try and kicking 8 goals from 9 attempts. In 2013, Austin played just one game for the Panthers before suffering a foot injury.
Wests Tigers
On 7 August 2013, Austin signed with the Wests Tigers on a two-year contract starting in 2014. Future coach Mick Potter described him as, "a player with plenty of potential. He can cover centre, half, five-eighth and lock and is also an excellent goal kicker." Austin began the 2014 season playing in the NSW Cup for the Tigers' feeder team, the Balmain Ryde-Eastwood Tigers. He was said to be "dominating" the lower grade. He made his club debut for the Tigers in round 6, after Braith Anasta was suspended. The following week, Austin was a late inclusion on the bench after Liam Fulton withdrew with a shoulder injury. He continued to be chosen on the bench, until moving to five-eighth in July after Anasta suffered a career-ending bicep injury. He appeared in every game for the remainder of the year, scoring seven tries.
Commentator Peter Sterling named Austin as one of the bargain buys of the season, saying it was "obvious he’s a natural footballer with good skills and an ability to play what’s in front of him."
Canberra Raiders
On 14 October 2014, Austin was released by the Tigers to sign a three-year deal with the Canberra Raiders starting in 2015. Austin entered the Canberra side as a starting line-up five-eighth and was selected to play the first game of the season against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Austin set up and scored his first try with the club in the Raiders' round 3 loss to the St. George Illawarra Dragons. After several tries and a countless number of strong performances, Austin scored his first career hat-trick against the Knights in Round 18, incredibly scoring all three tries within eleven minutes of the match. On 28 September 2015, Austin was named as the Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year. He finished the 2015 season playing a total of 23 matches, 16 line-breaks, 7 try-assists and 14 tries.
Representative career
At age 16, Austin was invited to play for Portugal in their match against Malta on 6 October 2007, kicking two goals in Portugal's losing effort. In October 2009, Austin represented Portugal in the Australian Mediterranean (Aus-Med) Shield at Marconi Stadium in Sydney, a tournament made up completely of Australian residents, such as Cameron Ciraldo, John Skandalis, and Jarrod Sammut. Austin represented Portugal at the 2012 Cabramatta International Nines. Austin has said, however, that he does not have Portuguese ancestry. The Sydney Morning Herald joked that he qualified "because he had eaten a Portuguese chicken burger".
Austin was selected to represent City Origin in 2015.
Personal life
Having suffered a foot injury early in 2013, Austin volunteered to coach the under 16 Doonside Roos team, a group of boys dubbed "the uncoachables" due to their poor discipline. The team was defeated by the Colyton Mt Druitt Colts 26-16 in their Grand Final. Austin coached them again as under 17s in 2014.
Austin was highly praised by the media after he drove a disabled Raiders fan to the team's game on 3 July 2016.